The Fifth Amendment: Constitutional Rights of the Citizen

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on 15th December 1791 and is one among the Bill of Rights and the first ten amendments.

What is the fifth amendment?

The 5th amendment definition deals with the five important constitutional rights of the citizens of the U.S. The annotation of the amendment means that:

• Unless an indictment of a grand jury, no citizen of the U.S should be forced or be liable to answer for any of the infamous (felony) crimes (except for the cases originating in inland or naval forces, or in the militia, during actual service in time of war or public danger).

• No one should be punished twice or put in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offense.

• According to the 5th amendment rights, no one should be forced to answer any question in any criminal case so the person witnesses against himself.

• No one shall be, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law

• Without justified compensation, no one’s private property can be taken for any public use.

Explanation of the content of the fifth amendment: Explanation of the fifth amendment will help to understand what is the 5th amendment in simple terms. The amendment contains the five clauses relating to the rights of the citizens of the U.S and that are as follows:

1. Grand Jury Clause: A Grand Jury is a group of people or panel of citizens that is present in the court and listens to all the proofs and witnesses and then decides whether the indictment or the claim should be filed against the accused or not.

The fifth amendment simplified that the indictment of a grand jury is necessary for an infamous crime. That means that if the grand jury is satisfied with the evidence presented for the offense committed then it issues an indictment after which the trial is permitted.

But the grand jury clause does not apply to the cases that arose in the land or naval forces or even in Military forces.

2. Double Jeopardy Clause: The fifth amendment to the United States Constitution protects the citizens from twice prosecution and multiple punishments for the same crime. The clause prevented punishing twice and sending the convicted to trial again for the crime if the convicted has been punished earlier for the same crime.

3. Self Incrimination Clause: The fifth amendment rights included that persons accused of a crime cannot be forced to testify themselves in any condition, it is the responsibility of the state to prove that the accused committed the crime. If the accused thinks that answering any question may go against him, then he/she can choose to keep quiet and not answer the question.

The self-incrimination clause applies to speaking, writing, or nodding, and under the clause, the convicted may not be pressurized by anyone to give any statement which may be unsafe for him.

In the U.S. before questioning, the police officer gives Miranda Warning (a right to remain silent and not answer the question).

4. Due Process Clause: ‘due process’ is the phrase that is used twice in the U.S constitution, first in the fifth amendment and then to the 14th amendment. 

The 5th amendment due process clause protects life, liberty, and property, that is it makes it a law that without the due process of law, no one shall be deprived of life, liberty, and property.

The main focus of this clause is concerned with fairness and justice so that no injustice should be done to anyone. Both the substantive and the procedural due processes deal to have just and fair decisions.

• Procedural due process:  The main basis for this is fairness. It deals with the legal proceedings ensuring the accused have the right to be heard and keeping them notified of the legal proceedings and the decision should be taken by a neutral decision-maker. 

• Substantive due process: This process is the notion that due process does not only deals with the legal procedures but also the procedures and the rights that are not mentioned in the U.S constitution.

5. Compensation Clause: The 5th amendment simplified that no private property should be taken by the government for public use without paying for the value it costs.

The 5th amendment to the United States Constitution primarily focuses on the laws and rights of the accused, so that there may not be any injustice to anyone.

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